(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing encapsulated bodies by inducing gelation through a liquid-liquid reaction, in which the resulting encapsulated bodies are recovered in a form dispersed in a desired liquid without mechanical separation of the resulting encapsulated bodies from the reaction mixture, and to an apparatus therefor.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, encapsulation of various liquid materials is practiced in many fields in order to immobilize or otherwise to fix the liquid materials.
For example, there are jelly foods, artificial roe, encapsulated dressing and encapsulated fruit juice in the field of foods.
It is also interested recently in immobilizing microorganisms and enzymes by using capsules or gel particles or granules in the field of so-called biotechnology, especially, in the microencapsulation technique as a method for culturing animal cells.
Incidentally, the culture making use of the aforementioned microencapsulation technique permits protection of cells from mechanical shear forces during the culture. It is also feasible to allow a physiologically active substance, which is to be produced by the cells, to accumulate to a high concentration within the capsules by controlling the permeability of the capsule walls, resulting in the advantages that not only the isolation and recovery of the physiologically active substance but also the separation of the cells and the culture medium are facilitated.
The above-described encapsulation technique is however accompanied by a problem upon its utilization, because damages to the capsules or gel particles formed by the gelation, such as their rupture, are unavoidable due to an application of mechanical separation such as filtration or centrifugation for the separation and recovery of the capsules or gel particles from the reaction mixture. In the case of encapsulation of animal cells or the like, the resultant capsules must be transferred in a sterile state promptly to a culture medium and then to disperse same there. The above-mentioned mechanical separation hence involves the problem that the sterilization procedure becomes very complex.